Why Nobody Cares About Item Upgrades

Path of Exile Item Upgrades

The performance of many Path of Exile items can be improved by upgrading them. They can be a great source of extra damage or more AD or even more affixes.

Rare-grade equipment is often superior to upgraded Common or Magic gear due to their higher requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades can be applied to both armor and weapon items. They increase the effectiveness of the Best item upgrader they're connected to. Armor upgrades can be found in the world of the game and are available from Blacksmiths on bonfires. They can also be salvaged by using an expert or higher salvage kits to recover upgrade components from items.

The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it will take on. A piece of armor upgraded to its highest upgrade level will boost the damage it absorbs. However, it's important be aware that this upgrade will increase its weight, causing it to be heavier than it was before.

There are several kinds of armor upgrades available in the game and they all have distinct effects. For example, some upgrades will grant the armor a certain number of additional health points, while others will make it stronger and lighter. The name of the upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade an item upgrader Mod can be given, as illustrated below.

Some of the upgrades are also magic or a hybrid of technology and magic which is indicated by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Additionally, some upgrades require charges to use, and are shown by the "Charges" entry in the table below. These charges are either continuously updated or never expire based on the upgrade.

The cheapest method to upgrade armor is by using Iron Ore, which can be gathered by exploring the area and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive, but is readily available in the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant improvements in stats and are worth the cost.

The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to its max upgrade level will boost its defense. However, it will also affect its agility and speed. For this reason, it is generally not recommended to upgrade armor pieces beyond +9, because the increase in defense is usually not worth the additional weight and power cost of the improvements required.

Weapons

Weapon upgrades allow players to increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of the weapon. Upgrades can improve the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage caused by shotgun shells. Certain weapons come with special upgrades that enhance their inherent characteristics. They include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and reduces the risk of overheating of the weapon) and Kinetic Coils (increases the velocity of projectiles for greater damage).

The majority of upgrades for weapons require a whetblade, one of three Power Dices and a different amount Minerals and Erons. These are obtained through either completing Side Quests, killing a certain number of monsters or bosses or through the Weapon Upgrade NPC in Central Flarine.

To upgrade an equipment set, weapon piece, or Whetblade, you must visit the NPC [ArmorBoboko. Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a certain number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars you will need to complete the upgrade. If you have multiple upgrade materials the cost of upgrading will be lower.

In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2 Season 5, you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a certain amount of Bars. You could do this until your weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level and at that point, the upgrades would be reset.

You can still do this but the process is based on RNG and low on agency. Instead, you're much better off going to stores and buying gear with low upgrade levels, but good base scores and stat distributions. These items will have a higher likelihood of granting you highest tier advantages and benefits.

To level up faster, many players prioritize upgrading their weapons. In addition to these players, they should think about upgrading the weapons they use with their teammates to make them more powerful as well. Shepard, for example, should upgrade the M92F so that he can unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more effective when accompanied with biotic specialists such as Grunt and Tali.

Jewels

Jewels are used in the sockets of armor and weapons, enhancing a stat and providing secondary effects. Jewelry crafting is the process of creating them. You combine a gemstone with a number specific reagents on a jewelry table. The higher the level of the gemstone is, the greater its secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses in the world, or by finding Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.

The quality of a jewel can be improved at the Jeweler, in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. The stat boosts will vary depending on the tier the jewel is in when it is inserted into weapons, jewelry, or equipment.

The Jeweler can craft all kinds of gems, with the exception of rare and legendary ones that you must attain certain levels to gain. In contrast to other upgrade components, jewels can be swapped out by a different jewel of the same type without destroying it. However it is only possible to replace the jewels in an equipment piece once.

Utilizing more jewels in a movement can make it feel more comfortable and is typically performed for aesthetic reasons. In addition to improving performance, the diamonds create an outer layer that is more durable than steel, so the repeated friction from pivots won't damage them as easily.

A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs that can enhance the look of your weapons and shields. These glyphs offer a small boost and can be freely exchanged, however they're not guaranteed to be available as loot. Glyphs are like jewelry and can be upgraded at the Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as aegis or traits cannot be swapped, and can only be found through an upgrade extractor or salvaging using Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage.

Trinkets

Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that offer many small but useful benefits to your hero. They are available in the starting area as loot or as personal story rewards. They are also available from vendors as well as through completing road interaction. They can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.

The first trinket a player will be able to unlock is the cloak. It gives a small, but useful bonus in movement speed and the ability to evade. Then, they can get amulets, rings, and necklaces in the same fashion to how the player acquires weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and are able to be used on any equipment. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.

These trinkets can provide additional bonuses and abilities that are active when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This enables the hero to be more effective when not active, and can also help make up for a lack of a solid team or any slots in the talent tree that would normally be filled with the hero's ideal stats.

As a rule trinket upgrades should be a priority BiS (Best item upgrader in Slot) items you won't replace in the near future. Also, consider items with desirable statistics that are less significant than the iLevel of the item upgrading that is to be upgraded. This is especially true if an item upgrader mod has multiple stats you'd like to upgrade as it's often better to upgrade a single crucial stat than two subpar ones.

Jungle players will often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one prior to the start of the game. Mid and top players on the other hand, will choose a green or a pink ward, depending on the game's matchup. These choices will have a major impact on the hero's ability to control his map.

Apart from the things mentioned above, players can find other items in the form of awards and trophies. These can be earned by completing certain milestones within the story, for instance completing a chapter's main quest or killing a certain boss. These can be viewed by selecting the relevant achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.